It seems that a Grade 2 shoulder separation for Sean Avery (expected to be out four weeks) is turning into a second chance for Marcel Hossa.

As Tom Renney’s Rangers try to find a sense of continuity only two games into the season, the Avery injury is reuniting Hossa with Jaromir Jagr, a combination that had glimpses of brilliance last year.

“The kid’s going to be flying,” Jagr said of the 25-year-old Hossa, who will play his first game of the year tomorrow at the Coliseum against the Islanders after being a healthy scratch for the first two games. “He’s really a good player.”

New addition Chris Drury will continue to center that top line, as he is still in the midst of learning to gel with Jagr.

“Because of the [offseason] acquisitions, we’re trying to make that whole transition as seamless as possible,” Renney said. “The bottom line is that we’re trying to get some synchronicity, so I’ll probably try that [combination] again.”

In 64 games for the Rangers last year, Hossa tied a career-high in goals (10), and set career highs in assists (eight) and points (18). After a slow start playing mostly on checking lines, Hossa was moved up to Jagr’s line, which turned out to be fertile ground for his offensive talents.

“It was a great experience to play with him,” Hossa said of playing with the second-year captain. “When we played together, it seemed like we could understand each other, [like] we speak the same language.”

The repercussions of Hossa’s promotion is that Martin Straka, formerly flanking Drury and Jagr, is now skating on the second line with Scott Gomez and Brendan Shanahan.

“He’s a complement to any line,” Shanahan said of Straka. “It would be nice to get some continuity there and try to continue to work on that chemistry.”

It’s safe to say that Renney, with 80 games left, wants to see the same type of chemistry he saw between Hossa and Jagr last year start to build in this year’s group.

“We don’t play eight games, we play 82,” Renney said. “We do have to show some patience here, but at the same time, we have to let these guys find their way.”